Sam Greer—Employer Outreach & Experiential Learning Programs at ACC District

00:38 – IMPORTANCE OF CBE IN HIGHER EDUCATION LANDSCAPE

CBE is a critical component of modern education system

Many people now coming into colleges and universities from non-traditional backgrounds
They bring with them knowledge from internships, work, military or self-education online
CBE is the marriage between being able to do competencies and recognition by an educational institution of the task

01:55 – IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS

Goal is to create competent employees, therefore, need to know what industry partners need
Industry partners delighted to be asked what competencies they need and in turn made them think in more academic terms
2-3 key industry partners to start a CBE program is critical

03:12 – WHEN TO ADD INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO CBE PROGRAM

It was a requirement for DOL grant at ACC to bring in two industry partners – National Instruments and Dell
However, since one of the key deliverables was getting students jobs, made sense to build much larger network of industry partnerships

04:17 – ALIGNING CURRICULUM TO INDUSTRY NEEDS

For APT program, developed an Industry Review Panel where multiple industry partners loaned line managers (who would ultimately manage the APT graduates) to talk directly to professors
Input was very useful in developing current, relevant content
Mutually beneficial relationship developed between industry partners and faculty
Exemplary faculty allowed to chose which input to put in their curriculum
Courses were reviewed by faculty peers

07:30 – IMPORTANCE OF DATA COLLECTION

Because pilot program, knew there was potential for errors and started monitoring all the demographic areas immediately
Data gathered first semester showed results that enabled program to adapt to student needs and help them succeed

10:01 – GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR INSTITUTIONS WANTING TO PURSUE CBE

Multiple funding sources available

TAACCCT (Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training) Grant and multiple spin-offs
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
Other private grants interested in CBE

11:46 – PROFILE OF STUDENTS COMING INTO APT PROGRAM

Average age – 37 years old
75% already had a college degree
About 70% currently employed
Looking to retrain and get into lucrative computer programming career
Because of this more mature student population, knew that if they struggled it would not be due to routine reasons
Data showed the students needed the additional support of a Student Support Specialist

13:12 – RECRUITMENT EVENTS TO BRING IN STUDENTS TO CBE PROGRAM

DOL grant required a minimum number of students
Rather than traditional flyers and posters, Chamber of Commerce held recruiting events and supported various outreach and marketing efforts
Also did radio ads for first year
After first year program started selling itself
For recruitment events, brought all the relevant departments together – Financial aid, Veterans Affairs, Computer Science Department Chair, to streamline enrollment process and to interview students to determine qualifications

17:06 – ADVICE FOR THOSE STARTING NEW CBE PROGRAMS

Get faculty buy-in and offer stipend incentives
Reach out to industry partners – see if they’d be willing to work with faculty
Develop a “Nascar” sheet of industry partner logos to help students visualize pathway to a career – Nascar sheet helps recruit new students to program
Data collection very important – enabled program to be fine-tuned to meet student needs
Data came from grades, satisfaction surveys, student support groups, social media